How much does Apple Push Notification service cost?

APNs has no usage-based pricing; message delivery is free at any volume. The practical entry cost is the 99 USD/year Apple Developer Program, plus whatever you spend running the backend that talks to APNs. There is no paid APNs tier to upgrade to.

Is Expo Push Notifications free to use?

Yes. The Expo push notification service is free and does not charge per notification. Sends are rate-limited to 600 notifications per second per project. You do not need a paid Expo Application Services (EAS) plan to send push notifications.

Can I use Apple Push Notification and Expo together?

Yes. Many teams route different message types through different providers or fail over between them. Courier lets you send through both behind a single API and switch providers without changing your code.

Apple Push Notification vs Expo

Two push notification providers, compared on price, features and ratings, so you can pick fast.

Apple Push Notification wins price and platform coverageExpo wins compliance

Updated October 2026

At a glanceApple Push NotificationExpo

Entry priceFree$99

Free tierYesYes

G2 rating4.34.0

Trustpilot1.64.0

THE VERDICT

Apple Push Notification wins on price and platform coverage. Expo wins on compliance.

Apple Push Notification starts at Free versus Expo's $99. Apple Push Notification rates higher with developers (4.3 vs 4.0 on G2). Pick based on volume and team, and the scorecard below breaks down where each one leads.

Which should you choose?

Pick Apple Push Notification

✓If you're building an Apple-specific product, APN is a sure thing for a proper notification system.

Set up Apple Push Notification with Courier →

Pick Expo

✓If you're looking for a tool to take care of native device information and communication with APN (Apple Push Notification) and FCM (Firebase Cloud Messaging), Expo is a great tool for you.

Set up Expo with Courier →

Feature by feature

Winner cells are tinted, green where Apple Push Notification leads, violet where Expo does.

capability

Apple Push Notification

Expo

Pricing

Starting paid plan

$0/mo

Free tier

Free

Free (unlimited push)

Pricing model

Free

Free push; separate paid EAS subscriptions for builds/updates

Platforms

iOS

Yes

Android

Yes

Web push

Yes

Desktop

Yes

Capabilities

Segmentation

In-app messaging

Journeys / automation

A/B testing

Geofencing

Rich media

Yes

Developer experience

Official SDKs

Swift/Obj-C (client); token-based HTTP/2 provider API (any server language)

JavaScript/TypeScript (React Native via expo-notifications)

REST API

Yes

Event webhooks

Compliance

SOC 2

—

Yes

HIPAA

GDPR

Yes

Support

Support channels

Developer docs, forums, Feedback Assistant, DTS

Docs, Discord, community forums; priority on paid EAS plans

24/7 support

FAQ

Common questions

Apple Push Notification starts at Free versus Expo's $99. Compare your expected monthly volume against the per-message rates above.

Keep comparing

Related comparisons

Airship vs Apple Push NotificationPush→AWS SNS vs Apple Push NotificationPush→Apple Push Notification vs BeamerPush→Apple Push Notification vs Firebase FCMPush→Apple Push Notification vs MagicBellPush→Apple Push Notification vs OneSignal PushPush→

Why not both?

Use both behind one API.

Route Apple Push Notification, Expo, or both, and switch providers without changing your code. Courier sits in front of every channel.

Start building free Read the docs

Pricing, plans and feature availability as of October 2026 and may change. Ratings are aggregated from public review platforms.